Unusual Circumstances
by LeoniaMew
Summary: The Marauders stick together through thick and thin. Nothing can't be dealt with if they're together. How about having one of their number turned into a girl?
1. Moony's Dilemma

_Disclaimer: Love ya, J.K.R. Not stealing, just borrowing. _

Introduction and Explanation 

Well, I was sitting around my house after finishing Book 5 last week and I had the urge to write. The way the Marauders were portrayed in their younger days really stuck with me. They seemed so close that I wondered if anything could break them apart. THEN I decided to try my hand at writing a (hopefully) funny fic (with a splash of romance, perhaps) about their trials through a particularly difficult trial. 

This is set in the groups sixth year. Lily and James are not yet together. James gets in into his head that his three best friends need to have some girls of their own to follow around and swoon over since he has Lily. So he tries to do his friends a favor and one or two things go wrong... The end result is that James himself is turned into a girl and will be stuck in such a way for a full month. Let's see the Marauders face that one. :) 

I hope it's a good story. Try it out. ^__^ 

  


Chapter one 

Her red hair caught the sunlight perfectly, bouncing over her delicate shoulder as she turned around. A pair of striking jade green eyes peered out of a young, fair skinned face, her lips seperated in a surprised 'o'. Even the simple act of turning around seemed graceful when she executed the act. The way her cloak swirled around her slim figure from the momentum. The way the sunlight gave her whole being a divine glow. The way those exotic green eyes recognized him. The way she pulled back her hand. The way she--- 

SLAP. 

James' head snapped sharply to the left with the force of the blow. His senses returned with the rude awakening. He looked back at the girl, surprised. 

"Who do you think you are?" she exclaimed. 

"You've got a strong arm, there, Evans..." James said in response, face still tingling a bit from the blow. 

She thrust a pair of opened envelopes in his direction, furiously. James caught them and read the front. He wasn't too surprised to find his own handwriting there. 

"I don't want your love letters, Potter! How much clearer can I make it for you? Get any ideas you have of me being one of your little fans out of your head! Where do you come off hexing boys who ask me out?!" Lily shouted. 

"I didn't _hex_ Sutter, Evans. That's his real face," he said smoothly. 

The girl snorted at the remark. "You think you're so cool, don't you? Calling people names and judging them? Assuming every girl in this school is secretly in love with you? Grow up, Potter." 

James watched her swiftly turn away from him and walk towards Professor Flitwick's classroom. His hand went up to the spot he'd been slapped as he let out a small sigh. 

"Tough break, mate," came a voice. 

He looked to his left where another boy had appeared. He was slightly taller than James, with dark hair falling reckless across his forehead and a set of catching blue eyes. 

"She'll come around, Sirius," James said, in a confident tone. 

"She will! She will!" another boy agreed enthusiastically. "I'm sure of it, Prongs! It's only a matter of time before--" 

"We get the point, Wormtail," Sirius muttered. 

The smaller boy fell instantly silent, grinning sheepishly at Black. James glanced at Peter a moment, curiously. He couldn't help but wonder if the boy actually meant half the things he said. 

"She's not the only girl in the school, you realize, James?" a third voice pointed out. 

"I have eyes, Moony. I'm aware," James replied, looking to Lupin. "If you're suggesting trying for someone else, you know how I feel about _that_ arguement." 

"Suit yourself," Lupin shrugged, not looking at James, but into a rather hefty textbook. 

James recognized the book, even though there was a brown bag slip hiding the text's real cover. He and Lupin had snuck into the Forbidden section of the library with the help of the Invisibility Cloak to get it just two days ago. By the looks of it, Lupin was nearly through with the book. They'd be back in the library after hours before the week ended for another. 

His attention shifted to Sirius as a group of girls walked by them, all smiling at the blue-eyed Animagus. Sirius sent a small grin their way, not seeming particularly interested in any one of them. Peter openly gawked at the group, while Lupin glanced up only briefly before returning to his book. When the crowd passed, Sirius felt James's stare. He raised a dark brow at his friend. 

"Did I just sprout a second head?" he asked. 

"You always have something to say about me and Evans. What about you? I have a girl in mind, but that crowd of Ravenclaw's just passed by without getting as much as a half grin," James accused. 

Sirius shrugged. "They're all the same." 

"They're all beautiful," Wormtail was sure to point out, still watching them. 

"Moony didn't even blink when they passed. You don't seem to find that strange," Black brought up. 

"No, that's even more disturbing," James assured, turning to Lupin. 

The brown-haired wizard closed his book, meeting James's and Sirius's stares. "I'd like to see how long any of those girls stick around when they see a full moon." 

James felt a brief pang of guilt for bringing it up. Even though he had friends to make his life easier, Lupin was a little sensitive about his situation. He shook off the feeling and ran a hand through his already wildly tousled hair. 

"We have to find you two girls," he sighed. 

Sirius turned to James. "Why did this all suddenly dawn on you, Prongs?" 

James shrugged, not really sure why himself. 

"Class is going to start soon," Wormtail said, voice a bit nervous. "We're going to be late..." 

"Ah, calm down. We'll make it," Sirius said, confidantly. "We always make it." 

Wormtail wrung his hands, though he seemed slightly less concerned now that he had Sirius's assurance. Black never did fret over things like tardiness or grades or girls. James felt the slightest gleam of envy shine inside him. He never had to worry because he always got what he aimed for. Though James was about the same. Well, if you didn't count Evans under the category of girls. 

There were hardly any students left in the hall. James realized Sirius was purposely cutting it close, taking Wormtail's worry as a challenge. 

"Well, let's get going," James said, heading toward the class. 

Sirius glanced at James as he passed him, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. Of course Black knew James had realized his intentions. They could read each other from six years of unshakable friendship in and out of school. They were conjoined twins separated at birth. 

Lupin walked along with James, eyes flicking across the pages of the text at speeds even James and Sirius couldn't absorb information. Peter let out a small, relieved sigh and followed, scuttling along quickly. James heard Sirius's footsteps falling behind the two walking beside him. Black was still strolling along, deliberately as slow as he could. James shook his head, sighing at his stubbornness. One day that resilient defiant quality within Sirius would cost him dearly. 

*

Lupin, Sirius, James and Peter had most of their classes together during the day. The only times they weren't all together were on days the classes taught exclusively for those who had achieved Excellents on their O.W.L.s, were scheduled. Peter, who had only pulled Acceptables in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Transfiguration, had separate classes those days. Lupin also had an advanced Arithmancy course, which his three friends had all opted to pass. 

Unfortunatly, Advanced Arithmancy was his last scheduled class for the day, which meant he'd have to either find his friends himself or wait for them to come to that class. Knowing James, he'd probably run off after Lily Evans and Sirius wouldn't dare leave James side. Never James. Why should he care if Moony was wandering aimlessly searching for them? 

Lupin frowned at that thought, scolding himself for the jealous notion. He'd gone through this over and over again with himself. Sirius and James were his closest friends. He couldn't help it if the bond between them was tighter than the one they shared with him. It wasn't anything to dwell on. It was just one of those things he had taught himself to accept. Kind of how he'd accepted the way people sometimes treated him... 

"Five minutes left in class. Wrap up your tests," Professor Rigel announced in his stern voice. 

All other thoughts were shunted aside and Lupin's whole mind was concentrated on the paper before him. He quickly double checked his entire quiz and realized he'd accidentally skipped a section. Nearly five minutes later he had one question left. Only one! Surely he could finish before Rigel collected the scrolls... The bell sounded for the period. 

"Time's up. I'll just get those," he said, cheerfully, in response to the groans emited from the students still hunched over thier parchments. 

_'One more, just one more line to write...'_ Lupin thought. Surely he could finish before--- The parchment gave a sharp tug as Rigel performed the _Accio_ spell to collect the tests. Lupin hadn't realized how hard he'd been gripping the sheet, because when the parchment was tugged forward so was he. He gave a cry as he flipped clean over his desk, crashing into the vacant seat in front of his. A few seconds later he was staring at the ceiling, lying on his back in a pile of shattered wood that was once Emily Stuart's desk, listening to the laughter from his peers. 

"Geez, Lupin, I thought Mudbloods had a little more grace than that," snickered a Slytherin boy. 

He had the sudden urge to burrow under the wood as a new wave of laughter sounded. _'That's right, Professor Rigel. Just sit behind your desk and smirk.'_ To his surprise a face suddenly appeared over him with a set of green eyes staring down at him, concerned. 

"Are you alright, Remus?" Lily asked. 

"Y-yes..." he said, confused. 

By now most of the students had left the room, except for a group of still laughing Slytherin boys. Lily scowled in their direction a moment, then turned back to Lupin. She bent down and grabbed his arm, helping him to his feet. 

"Thank you, Lily," he said, brushing a few excess splinters from his robes. 

A small smile appeared on her face. "I think that's the first time you've ever said more than one word to me." 

"Oh, well, James usually---" 

"Yes, Potter usually does have a mouthful for me, doesn't he?" she mused. "I don't understand why such a nice person like you associates with James Potter and Sirius Black." 

"They're two of the best people I've ever known," he defended, picking up his textbooks. "Maybe if you talked to them like you're talking to me you'd find that out." 

Something else dawned on Lupin while he stood there. "Why aren't you with them in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" 

"Oh, I almost forgot... I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Class was cut short today. Professor Aquila sent me here to get you. Peter had a slight accident with his Slytherin dueling partner." 

"What? Where is he?" Lupin asked, alarmed. 

"Ah... last I saw they were trying to get him detached from the classroom wall..." she said. 

"_Detached_?" Lupin repeated. 

"Come on. You'll see." 

Lily and Lupin hurried out of the class towards Professor Aquila's room. Peter was a natural disaster when it came to dueling. He was too skittish and dependant on people to be much help to himself when he was on his own. Despite several attempts by his friends, it seemed like Peter would have to avoid as many fights as he could where dueling was needed. 

"What exactly happened?" Lupin asked. 

"Reno Pugus was Peter's partner. He likes to pick on the smaller ones, so it was no accident. Pugus used _Suspenda Sedimenta_ and Peter was standing so close to the wall that when he turned to stone he somehow just... connected," she told him. 

Lily glanced over in time to catch a look of anger cross Lupin's usually calm features. 

"You'll have to wait until Pugus is released from the hospital wing to take your shot at him. Black didn't give him a second to even put up a sheild," she said. "He can be so violent sometimes." 

"We can all be violent sometimes," Lupin muttered. 

He wasn't quite sure why he had said it, but something about his tone must have scared Lily. She didn't say a word until they reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts cass. It seemed they had managed to free Wormtail from being a permanent wall fixture and had lugged him to Madame Pomfrey. 

"Why did you assume you had the authority to leave in the middle of a lesson to fetch Pettigrew's friend, Miss Evans?" Professor Aquila asked, icily. 

Lily paled. "Oh, I... I'm sorry, Professor, but--" 

"Detention, Evans. Tomorrow night with Flitwick, just like Potter and Black," Aquila said, waving his hand at the two students as he left the classroom. 

Lily stiffened, realizing she'd be spending her Saturday night with her two least favorite people. Before Lupin could speak to her, Aquila popped back into the classroom. 

"That goes for you as well, Mr. Lupin, for leaving your assigned class to come here," he added. 

Lupin turned to face the professor. Aquila held up a hand, agitated look in his eyes. 

"Please, don't even try me. Tomorrow with Flitwick. Failure to attend will result in a week of detentions with Filch. Now go see Pettigrew," Aquila said. "Out of my class." 

"Professor, I didn't leave---" 

"Out, Lupin. Unless..." Aquila sneered at his student a moment. "Unless a detention tomorrow night could interfere with your _lunar_ schedule?" 

Lupin realized how lucky Aquila was that Prongs and Padfoot weren't present at the moment. While he didn't enjoy puns about his werewolf situation, he was a little more level headed than his two friends. 

"No, that won't interfere," he mummbled. 

Lupin sighed and left the class with Lily. They walked down the hall in silence. How could Aquila give _him_ detention? Was it his fault Lily thought to get him? Lupin glanced at the red head beside him. Why had she thought to come for him...? 

"So, Professor Aquila didn't actually send you to get me," he said. 

"No. I just thought you should know. The rest of the clique was there," she sighed. "And it looks like we'll all be stuck together on a perfectly good Saturday night." 

Lupin didn't respond. He appreciated Lily coming to get him and kept telling himself that it wasn't really her fault he had scored a Saturday night detention. Still there was that glimmer of resentment, nagging at the back of his mind. 

"What exactly is your lunar schedule?" Lily asked. 

"Wh-what? What do you mean my lunar schedule..?" he asked, startled. 

An icy dread filled his chest at the question. Where had she heard that? 

"Professor Aquila asked if the detention would interfere with your lunar schedule," she said. 

"Oh..." he said, relieved. He had forgotten about Aquila's commentary. 

"Did that git actually say that to you, Moony?!" 

Lupin and Lily spotted Sirius standing in the hall outside the infirmary, leaning against the wall. There was a slightly bloodied cloth wrapped across the knuckles of his right hand and a small burn on his neck where it seemed a nasty hex barely missed its target. 

"What happened to you? Where are James and Peter?" Lupin asked. 

"Pomfrey won't let me inside until she's done with all the Slytherins," he scowled. "I suppose she doesn't care seventy-five percent of the skin on my hand is gone. Now what about Aquila's little remark?" 

"How many Slytherins are there exactly?" he asked, ignoring his inquery for the moment. 

"How many were in the class?" he replied. 

"Oh, please," Lily sighed. "You knocked out five before James stopped you, if you don't include Severus who, might I add, was an out of the way target." 

"I heard him egging Alan Lexon on. Where did you run off to?" he asked her. 

"Lily came to tell me what had happened," Lupin said, glancing at the girl, then looking at Sirius sternly, added, "And it cost her." 

Sirius raised a brow at Lily. She shook her head and went into the infirmary. He turned to Lupin. 

"Don't you think that's a little odd for her?" he asked, flexing the fingers on his bloody hand. "Ouch!" 

"Stop that. It's going to bleed more," Lupin scorned. "And I was surprised that she thought to find me. Even more surprised she knew where I was..." 

Sirius brow furrowed a bit. "Did you two talk?" 

"A little," Lupin said, remembering the broken desk in Professor Rigel's room and deciding not to speak of the incident. 

"What did she say?" he asked. 

"Well---" 

"Potter wants to see you, Remus," Lily said, stepping out of the infirmary. "If he asks, don't lie and say I talked about him to you on the way here. I have to deal with him tomorrow night." 

"Aquila gave you detention?" Sirius asked, scowling. "Slimy old git." 

"Potter wasn't as troubled by the news," Lily muttered. "I supposed I'll see you both tomorrow." 

She started down the hall, glumly. Sirius watched her, something clicking in his head. 

"Hey, Evans!" he called. 

Lily stopped in the hall and turned to look back at him. By the look on her face she expected him to shout some comment about her and James. 

"Sirius, don't---" Lupin said. 

"I don't really understand how or why you found Moony," he said, "but thanks." 

Lupin stopped in mid-sentence. Lily blinked in surprise. 

"You're welcome," she called back. 

"Care to tell me how you knew where he was?" 

Lily opened her mouth, then closed it, flushing. She quickly spun on her heel and zipped down the corrider. Sirius chuckled to himself. Lupin wasn't entirely comfortable with the sudden mischevious glint in his friend's eyes. 

"What is it?" Lupin asked. 

"She's been watching us when we walk by her the past two weeks. I thought she was finally warming up to James but..." he looked at Lupin. "she's actually warming up to you." 

"That's ridiculous," he said, frowning. "I've never even tried to talk to her before." 

"Mr. Black! You can come in now!" Madame Pomfrey called. 

Sirius looked to Lupin. "It's not that impossible if you think about it. Just... don't tell James. I'll do my best not to, but... I won't be able to hide it forever. Not from James, Moony." 

Lupin felt suddenly uneasy about facing his friend. He nodded to Sirius and they both entered the infirmary. 

* * *

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	2. Detention

_Disclaimer: Love ya, J.K.R. Not stealing, just borrowing. _

Chapter two 

Another night spent in detention. This was nothing new for Sirius Black. He had no less than a dozen detentions every year. As usual, he had taken the seat behind James where they could easily pass notes or talk if the professor sitting in on the detention left the room or, in Professor Flitwick's case, nodded off. Lupin sat next to Sirius, leaving the seat beside James free in hopes it would be occupied by Lily Evans once she arrived. Half a minute after the three friends were seated, the girl walked in. 

James gave her a wide grin, leaning back in his seat as cool and casually as he could manage. Lily shook her head, exhasperatedly. She walked past the desk saved for her beside James, as expected. To everyone's surprise, she didn't take the furthest seat she could find from the three, but the one directly beside Lupin. She sat, setting her small bag down on the floor beside her desk. She turned to the three staring boys and quite deliberatly frowned in James's direction, then turned to Lupin and gave him a bright smile before turning to face the front of the class. 

Sirius saw James's jaw drop open from what he had just witnessed. Lupin slowly turned to his two friends, just as surprised. James snapped his mouth shut and moodily turned to face front in his desk. Lupin glanced over at Sirius, grimacing. 

"Now then, boys, you know how it goes. You'll be writing the lines I put on the board until the detention is over," Professor Flitwick said, followed by a stifled yawn. 

The little man wrote tapped the board with his wand and a set of lines appeared. Sirius sighed and took out his quill, ink, and parchment. He knew that Flitwick would be asleep within the hour, but he still hated lines. Even if lines were simpler, he prefered cleaning rooms. At least then he was moving around. About forty minutes later, Flitwick's head drooped forward onto his chest. Sirius, James and Lupin all watched hopefully. When a tell-tale snore sounded from the sleeping man, they all let out relieved sighs. 

"I thought he'd never nod off," James said quietly. 

"I _hate_ lines..." Sirius muttered, taking out his wand and magically finishing his assignment. 

"You two are lucky Flitwick trusts us for some reason," Lupin said, repeating what Sirius had done, a little guiltily. 

Sirius leaned back in his desk, with his hands behind his head. Now there was an hour to kill. Even though Flitwick was a very sound sleeper, they couldn't do much more than talk or play a card game (so long as it wasn't Exploding Snap). Once Sirius suggested altering the hour hand on the wall clock then waking Flitwick and telling him they'd been there an hour too long, just to see the professor's reaction. Lupin had been quick to warn that their next detention Flitwick may be careful not to nod off if they went through with Sirius's idea. 

"I say we just leave," he sighed. "He never wakes up." 

"He falls asleep every time you have a detention?" Lily asked. 

"Unless it's a daytime detention," he replied, looking over at her. "I thought you would spend the whole hour and a half refusing to talk or look at us." 

"That can be arranged," she retorted coldly. 

"Why don't you come sit up here, Evans?" James asked, gesturing to the seat beside him. 

"I'm fine here, thanks," she said, continuing to write her lines. 

"There's an easier way to do that, you know," James said. 

Lily didn't respond. Sirius saw James give him a look that said 'watch this', then get up out of his seat amd heads toward Lily's. As much as Sirius supported his best friend's actions, sometimes he wondered if he tried too hard. James took out his wand as he stopped beside the girl's desk. 

"Here, let me," he said. 

Lily yanked her parchment out of his reach. "No thanks." 

"Come on, do you really want to sit here and write for another hour?" James asked. "It's a simple spell, really. No one's detected it yet." 

"I don't want your help, Potter. Now sit down where you were," Lily told him. "The only reason I have detention is because I did you a favor. The least you could do is leave me alone." 

James grinned at her glaring hostility. She returned to her lines, but he didn't move from the spot in front of her desk. A minute later she looked up at him, agitatedly. 

"Do you live to torture me, Potter?" she muttered. 

"Torture? Is that what all this is to you?" he mused, looking over at Sirius and Lupin. "She thinks I do all this to bug her, mates." 

Sirius shrugged. "No one's ever told her different, I suppose." 

Lupin didn't say a thing. He seemed strangely preoccupied with a small hole in his old, worn, school robes. James let his eyes stay on him a moment, then lookd back at Lily. 

"I have an idea. All this 'torture' I'm putting you through can end. Just go out with me next Hogsmede weekend and I'll never bother you again," he offered, grinning. 

Lily green eyes flashed. "Sit down, Potter! Sit down now or I swear I'm waking Flitwick and telling him what you three do every detention with him!" 

"Woah, woah, not so loud," Sirius said, glancing over at Flitwick. 

"I can be louder!" she exclaimed. 

"Sit down, Prongs!" Sirius snapped. 

James threw up his hands and returned to his desk. Lily lividly splashed her quill in her inkpot and scratched away at her parchment. A second later a crack was heard and Lily was holding a pointless quill. She stared at it a moment in disbelief. 

"That spell looks pretty good about now, doesn't it? I'll still be willing to perform it for you," James told her. 

"I rather serve another detention," she grumbled, hurling the useless pen across the room. 

James shrugged and sat back in his seat again. It was unusually quiet in the room. Sirius fidgeted in his seat. He had an idea of what was about to happen. Lupin was staring at his perfectly whole quill sitting on his desk, brow furrowed in thought. James was pretending not to watch Lily and his friend sitting beside her. 

"Here," Lupin said quietly. 

Lily looked over surprised as he offered his quill to her. She raised a brow at the gesture. 

"I don't need it," he said, dropping it on her desk. 

"Thank you, Remus," she replied, brightly, returning to her assignment with a pointed quill. 

Lupin sat there, doing his best not to look over at James. Sirius never expected him to act as he had. Usually, Lupin would just sit by and let himself and James do as they pleased, even when he didn't agree with it. Now he saw James fidget in his own seat. He turned around to Sirius. 

"I think I'm through here tonight, Padfoot," he told him. "Maybe now's the time to try jinxing the clock. I have an idea of something I'd rather do with the next forty minutes." 

Sirius took out his wand. "About time you let me try this! If he wakes up or realizes what we've done we'll only get another detention." 

Sirius stood up and went to the back of the room where a wall clock hung. He waved his wand in a strange semi-circle and muttered a short phrase. As he moved the wand, the hour hand followed it's motions until it was an hour later. He turned to his friends, grinning. 

"I told you it would work," he said, going up to Flitwick's desk. "I know Dumbledore's always one step ahead of us, but who would really take the time to charm every clock in every room of _this_ place? Ah, you aren't going to say anything about this, are you?" 

"I don't want to be here any more than you," she sighed, writing faster. 

"Right then," he shook the professor a little. "Professor, our detention has been over a while now." 

"Hnn?" Flitwick straightened up, blinking a few times, sleepily. "Oh, dear... Yes, you have been here a little longer than intended... Alright. I'll get those papers. You can all go. Sorry about that." 

James stood up and gave a mock stretch, rubbing his hand. "That was a long assignment." 

Sirius smirked in his direction for the comment. Lily gathered her things and stood up. Before anyone there could say a word to her she nearly ran out the door. Lupin watched her go, frowning. 

"She kept my quill..." he realized. 

"Well, you can have her broken one," James replied, a little shortly. "Come on." 

"Come on to where?" Sirius asked, glancing over to see Lupin's reaction to James's sharpness. 

The boy's frown deepened a bit, but he didn't say anything. James led them out the classroom and down the hall. He reached into his robes and pulled out a gray folded up cloth. 

"I think we need a little trip to the library," he said, shaking the Invisibility Cloak open to it's full size. 

James lifted the cloak from the three friends' heads once they were in the Forbidden aisle of the library nearly fifteen minutes later. He didn't say a word to his companions as he went to work searching through the rows and rows of books. Once he disappeared behind a tall shelf, Lupin turned to Sirius. 

"I think he's mad at me," he whispered. 

"Maybe," Sirius replied with a shrug. 

"And you think he's right, of course," Lupin muttered, turning away. 

Sirius turned over the last hours events in his head a few times while Lupin observed a bookshelf, frowning to himself. Padfoot made his way over to lean on the shelf beside him. 

"You didn't do anything wrong, as far as I can see," Sirius said quietly. 

Lupin looked up at him in a little surprise. "What...?" 

"All you did was give the girl a quill, sure. But ... Prongs was trying to get through to Lily and I suppose it must have seemed like you were taking her side," he explained, slipping a book off the shelf and examining the cover. "_'Great Werewolves and Animagi and Their Contributions to a Wizard's Society'_. Aquila aught to read this, the slimy git..." 

"Are you saying..." Lupin said, all his attention now on Sirius, "that in this particular situation, you think that... _James_ is wrong?" 

Sirius gave a slight snort. "No. It did seem alot like you were trying for Lily, mate, don't get me wrong. It's not wrong or right that he's angry. That all depends on how he handles it." 

"I wasn't _trying_ for Lily," Lupin defended. "You know that." 

"Yea, but when someone likes a girl like Prongs likes Evans, they tend to be a little overly jealous," he pointed out. 

"So you are still on James's side," Lupin sighed, turning back to the book shelf. "Just like always." 

A scowl crossed Sirius's face. "What's that supposed to mean, Lupin?" 

"Nothing. Nothing. I'm just a little upset about this, too, I suppose," he muttered. "Sorry." 

Sirius didn't respond. He knew what he had meant. Lupin thought he was playing favorites. As hard as he tried to give his three friends all the same amount of devotion, Sirius couldn't help but feel closer to James somehow. He didn't want to slight Lupin, but... he couldn't help it. 

Before Sirius could begin to coax Lupin into telling him what he had meant so he could explain, James came down the aisle. 

"Found it. I knew there was at least one in here," he said, grinning. 

"What did you find?" Sirius asked, raising a brow at the hotpink book in his friend's hand. 

James held up the feminine looking text so both his companion's could read the front cover. Lupin nearly dropped the book he had been skimming through. Sirius felt his stomach flip. 

"No. Don't even think about it, James," he said, firmly. 

"What? It'll be fun. You see, love potions are illegal to use within Hogwarts, but these spells can't make anyone fall in love with you," he told him. "There's a spell in here that leads you to the person you're in love with and causes a series of events to occur to allow you to --- of your and your partner's own free will, of course--- come together." 

"There's a reason that book's in the Forbidden section, James," Lupin reasoned. 

"Well I think you two both need to find girl's of your _own_. Don't you agree?" he asked, looking pointedly at Lupin. 

He opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again, deciding to let James win this one. Sirius shook his head. 

"I don't want to," Sirius refused. 

"Why? I mean, I know you don't need any help with girls, but this brings you right to 'the one'," James said, opening the book up. 

Sirius eyed the hot pink covered text with great dislike. He had his reasons for not wanting to find 'the one' right now. James looked to him over the top of the book, grinning. 

"You'll do it, won't you, mate? I'll do it, too, to be fair if it doesn't work," he said. 

James looked genuinely pleased with his idea. Sirius forced himself to grin back. 

"I'll give it a try," he gave in. 

"I suppose it's worth a shot," Lupin agreed. "Where are we going to perform the spell?" 

"Think anyone would notice if we did it here?" James thought aloud, looking around at the library as if considering it. 

"Let's use the girl's bathroom. That worked when you were becoming Animagi," Lupin said. 

"Right. Well, let's go then," James said, taking up the Invisibility Cloak again. 

Sirius sighed and went to stand under the cloak, dreading the spell in that pink leather bound book. 

* * *


	3. A Minor Change

_Disclaimer: Love ya, J.K.R. Not stealing, just borrowing. _

Chapter three 

"It says the spell's participants have to sit in a circle," James read from the book. "I hope they clean these floors after floods..." 

James sat on the cold tiled bathroom floor. Lupin sat quietly to his left, sure not to let his hands touch the floor. Sirius sat to his right, looking a little reluctant to do so. James eyes flitted over the page. 

"Alright... we need to each put something of ours into the center of the circle. Preferrably something of value," he added. "Well, I suppose my Invisibility Cloak has alot of value to me..." 

James set the gray bundle in the center of the circle they formed. Lupin fished through his pockets. He sighed and took something from inside his cloak. He let a photograph of a man and a woman fall to the floor. James recognized the woman as Lupin's mother. And the man... He looked from the photo to Lupin, surprised. Sirius must have come to the same conclusion as James, because he was also glancing between the little square of paper to his friend's face. 

"Is that man your...?" he asked. 

Lupin nodded. "It's my father. My mother tells me his name is Romulus. It's the only photo I have of him, so I suppose that counts as value." 

"You look alot like him... Well, you look a little nicer," Sirius said, flipping a small gold item James mistook for a coin into the circle. It was actually a ring with the Black family crest on it. 

"How does that have value?" James asked. "I thought you hated your family." 

"And they hate me just as much. Once my parents kick the bucket, that thing entitles me to my family inheritance," he said, snickering. "I just wish it was possible for them to be dead and for me to see the look on their faces when I own everything they never wanted me to have." 

"That's a little cynical of you, Sirius," Lupin mused. 

"Well, it's all I have on me right now or else I would put in something you or Prongs gave me," he shrugged. 

James looked back down at the book in his hands. "Next, we have to hold all our wands with the points touching. This spell sounds phony..." 

"If it was phony, it wouldn't have been in the Forbidden section of the library," Lupin reminded, taking out his wand. 

The three held their wands out, all the points meeting right above the center of the circle. 

"Then I have to read this spell aloud. Well, here we go," he said, clearing his throat. 

"_'To find our hearts _

Lead us true 

Though love's form 

May be new'"*** 

They all sat there, arms beginning to ache from holding up their wands so long. Nothing happened. James looked at Lupin, frowning. 

"I told you it was hokey," he said. 

Suddenly emerald green sparks erupted from the three wands. The cloak, ring and photo in the center of the circle took on a glow. Their light floated up into the sparking of the wands. All three friends felt their wands begin to shake and glow bright green. James felt a slight burning sensation in his chest where his heart would be. Sparks shot up from the center of the circle and the burning was transformed into a sharp pain. 

"I think I've had enough of this, Prongs! I'm letting go!" Sirius exclaimed, holding his chest. 

"I think I agree!" James replied, feeling a bit sick from the pain. 

He tried to lower his arm but found it wouldn't budge an inch any way. He couldn't release his wand or move any one of his fingers. Panic rose in James as he wondered if this was why the book had been labeled forbidden. He saw alarm fill Lupin when he came to the same conclusion as James. The boy paled five shades. 

"I can't let go!" Sirius said, furiously trying to pull his arm out of it's frozen position. 

The swirling sparks and light rose from the circle and floated toward James's wand. They slowly twisted around the wand, slithering forward like some snake composed of a multitude of tiny sparks. The light wrapped itself around James's hand and worked it's way up his arm. He glanced up to see if the same thing was occuring to his two friends. Sirius was still trying to free his arm, looking particularly violent and angry. Lupin had snatched the book from James's lap and was fervently searching for a counter-spell. Neither had the same problem James had at the moment. 

"G-guys..." he nearly squeaked. 

Sirius glanced up from his struggle to see the sparkling green light covering his friend's entire arm, shoulder and traveling up his neck and across his chest. Lupin stared at James, eyes wide. 

"Prongs! What's going on?!" Sirius exclaimed. 

"I don't know..." he replied, trying to swat away the light with his free hand. To his horror, it only spread faster. 

"Moony! What's the book say?" Sirius asked. 

"Nothing about this sort of thing..." he answered. "Try a spell since your wand's already in your hand!" 

"Expellerius!" James cried. 

The only effect was that a gush of sparking green light covered James's entire lower half. Sirius struggled even more against his restrained arm. 

"I'll... get... free... Don't worry, James!" he assured, looking a little frantic. 

"_Expellerius_!!!!!!!" he shouted again. 

To his surprise, every glittering bit of light was sucked directly into the point of his wand in less than three seconds, hovering on the tip. James blinked. 

"Well... that's better," he said, panting a bit. 

CRACK! 

The ball of light exploded, throwing the three friends back with the force. Lupin crashed through the door of a bathroom stall, just missing falling into the toilet bowl. Sirius went sailing until the far wall broke his fall. He slid down the tiled wall until he was sitting on the floor, feeling dazed. James gave a shout when he flew into one of the empty bath tubs at the opposite end of the bathroom. 

He gave a groan and let himself lay there a moment to recover. His feet hung over the side of the tub and his head just missed being cracked open on the bath faucet. He was lucky to be whole. James closed his eyes against the aching in his chest, arm, and head. Feeling he'd spent enough time on his back, he forced himself to sit up. He managed to pull himself out of the tub and stand on his slightly shaky feet. 

He took a step forward and felt his shoe slip right off his foot. James raised a brow, looking down at himself. His pants were extra baggy, slipping down his hips. The end of his black school cloak brushed the ground as he walked. The sleeves fell past his fingertips. When his cloak was usually a bit tight around his broad shoulders, it slinked off his shoulders every other step he took. He lost his other shoe and nearly fell on his face in the process. Come to think of it, his balance felt a little off... 

Lupin groaned from behind one of the stall doors. He pushed open the door and walked out holding his head. 

"James, we are never trying anything like that ever again," he muttered, looking at James. "Not even if---" 

He froze, staring at James wide eyed. Before he could make a comment, Lupin backed away from him towards the spot Sirius was walking to. 

"S-Sirius..." Lupin studdered, eyes still on James. "Look at James...!" 

"Is he hurt?" Sirius asked, rubbing his arm as he came over. "You alright, Pron--- holy crap." 

Sirius's eyes also widened and he stared at James in the same manner Lupin was. A grin suddenly slipped onto his face. He began to laugh, shaking his head. 

"Funny, Moony. Real funny," he chuckled. "Did you and Prongs really set this whole thing up?" 

"Sirius, I swear this isn't a joke... _that's_ James!" Lupin swore. 

Sirius's grin faded, his eyes on James. "The eyes are exactly the same... God... Prongs, what happened, mate...?" 

"What do you mean what happened? My clothes got a little big. Why are you guys stressing?" James inquired, raising a brow. 

Sirius and Lupin exchanged looks. 

"Take a look in one of those mirrors, James," Lupin suggested. 

James shook his head, sighing. He walked toward the mirrors set above the row of sinks in the center of the bathroom. He nearly stumbled over his own feet three times on the way. For whatever reason, he couldn't carry himself the way he normally did. The spell must have had some sort of effect... Or it could be due to his over large clothing. 

Once James reached a mirror he knew exactly why he felt so different. He looked at his reflection and froze. The usual dark haired, blue eyed, handsome boy wasn't staring back at him this time. Instead, the wild dark hair was longer and smoother, reaching an inch past a pair of slim shoulders. The rugged, handsome face of boyish good looks had been replaced by the soft, round exotic features of a beautiful girl. The only thing that hadn't changed were the now wide blue eyes, which held the same depth and character they once had. But the fact remained... James Potter had been turned into a girl. 

"N-no way..." she whispered, realizing for the first time the change in her voice. 

She backed away from the mirror, horrified. Again she tripped over her feet, but there were more pressing matters on her mind for it to be much of an annoyance. She turned to her friends, shaking her head. 

"No..." she repeated. "Tell me what I saw isn't what I am..." 

"I told you there was a reason that book was forbidden," Lupin whispered, going up to his friend. "Oh, God... I shouldn't have let you go through with this. I knew something wasn't right about the book..." 

"No, no, no, _no_," James muttered, looking at her now slim, feminine hands and fingers. 

"Maybe the book says something about side effects of the spell," Sirius suggested, walking over with the text, handing it to Lupin. 

Lupin's eyes ran down the page quickly. A frown crossed his lips. 

"No... oh wait! Listen to this," he said. "It says the spell only lasts one complete cycle of the moon, unless some sort of love is forged between at least one of the spell's participants and the person they were meant to be with." 

"Hear that? It's not even permanent!" Sirius said with false optimism. 

"I have to be a freaking woman for a _month_???" she shreiked. "Ugh... listen to my voice... This can't be happening... What am I going to do for a month?!" 

"Er... we can cut your hair and dress you in a boys uniform and try to pass you off," Lupin thought aloud. 

James snorted. "No one would notice I'm half a foot shorter, right? No one would notice I'm no longer flat-chested either I suppose?!" James looked down at herself and face faulted. "Changing me into a woman wasn't enough, right? I had to turn into the fullest chested woman alive, didn't I?" 

"Prongs, please..." Sirius said, flushing a bit. "I really don't want to think of you that way, mate..." 

Lupin frowned. "We have to tell the headmaster." 

Sirius and James stared at him as if he was mad. They'd just skipped an hour of detention, snuck into the library after hours, stole a book from the forbidden section and cast a spell from it after sneaking into the girl's bathroom. That was no less than a dozen broken rules. 

"We have to," he repeated. "What else can we do? Maybe Dumbledore will even be able to reverse the spell." 

James pulled up her waistband with one hand and yanked her cloack back onto her left shoulder with the other, miserably. "Do either of you have a belt?" 

"What? Oh, sure..." Lupin said, handing the book to Sirius. 

He unbuckled the belt and slid it from his waist. James gratefully took the belt and quickly ran it through the loops on her pants. She tightened it around her waist to nearly the last hole. She yanked her school tie straight over her head and tossed it aside. 

"And what if Dumbledore doesn't know anything about the spell and can't help me and expells the lot of us from school?" she asked. 

"Well, then we're basically screwed, mate," Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

"We have to try," Lupin agreed, looking doubtful of his idea himself. 

James realized neither of them thought they'd be a part of Hogwarts after going to see Dumbledore tonight. She also realized that they were doing it all for her when she had actually been the one to push they both into trying the spell out. 

"I have a better idea," she said. "I go to Dumbledore myself after I take you two back to Gryfindor tower and tell him _I_ snuck into the library and used the spell myself." 

"What...? No way, Prongs," Sirius shook his head. 

"It's my fault! I shouldn't have forced you into it..." she muttered. "You shouldn't have to pay for my mistake." 

Sirius turned to Lupin. "I understand if you rather not come to see Dunbledore, Moony, and we won't tell him you were involved, but I'm not letting James go himself." 

"What makes you think I would abandon him--er... _her_ either?" Lupin asked, snapping the book shut in his hands. "We're all a part of this now. Besides, I don't think Dumbledore will believe her if she tells him neither of us were with her, anyway." 

"I appreciate you two going through with all this but... stop calling me 'her' and 'she'!!" James exclaimed. 

"Well... that's what you are at the moment, James," Lupin said, apologetically. 

She scowled as her cloak slid off one shoulder again. James walked over to where they had put their three valued possessions for the spell and gathered the items. She tossed Sirius his ring and held out the photo to Lupin. 

"Thanks," he said taking it and returning in to his school robe's pocket. "Let's go." 

James unrolled the Invisibility Cloak and took a ste toward her two friends, only to drop like a ton of bricks flat on her face. 

"Ow..." she muttered. 

"What was that all about?" Sirius asked. 

"I think I tripped over my robes..." came her reply, muffled by the tiled floor. 

Sirius leaned down and hooked his hands under her arms and lifted her to her feet. He nearly stumbled backwards, having expected her to be heavier than she proved to be. 

"... Would you mind putting me down, Padfoot?" James asked, feet dangling an inch or two above the floor. 

"Oops, sorry, mate..." Sirius chuckled, setting her down. "You're light..." 

She yanked off her school cloak and tossed it aside. The green sweater beneath it hung well below her waistline and she had to roll back the ends of the sleeves twice to be able to use her hands. 

"Ah, since you lost a few inches in height, maybe it's better if Sirius holds the Cloak, James," Lupin suggested. 

"Fine..." she sighed, handing it over to Sirius. 

The three gathered beneath the concealment of the Cloak and left the girl's bathroom. James felt herself struggling to walk in a straight line beside Sirius. Her weight was distributed differently than it had been in her previous form. About halfway down the hall she tripped over her dragging pant leg and fell sideways into Sirius. All she could do to keep from falling on her face was to throw her arms around his middle and hope he had better balance than she. Sirius hadn't been expecting her weight to be thrown at him so they both went tumbling backward. 

Lupin felt the Cloak slip off of him and stopped in the middle of the hall, alarmed. He looked around for his two companions but there was no one else in the hall with him. 

"James...? Sirius...?" he whispered. 

"What did you do that for, Prongs?" came Sirius's voice. 

"I can't walk straight! All my balance is gone, not that these clothes being three sizes too big for me helps matters," was James's reply. 

"Where are you?" Lupin asked, looking round. 

"Down here," Sirius sighed, yanking the Invisibility Cloak off of himself and James. "She took a little fall and decided to take me with her." 

He stood up, pulling James to her feet with him. He had to steady her as soon as she stood up. James shook her head, miserably, taking a cautious step on her own. 

"I'm dead the first flight of steps we get to," she muttered. 

"There's going to be nothing left of you by the time we get to Dumbledore," Lupin agreed, thinking. "Why don't you carry her, Sirius?" 

"_Carry_ me?" James repeated, not looking very thrilled by the plan. 

"That might be a good idea," Sirius said, tossing Lupin the Cloak. "Alright. Let's go, Prongs." 

"I'm not cripple, I can walk on my own," she protested. 

Sirius shrugged. "If you say so." 

They all got back under the cloak and continued down the hall. Less than ten minutes later they were all flat on their backs. James knocked the lot of them over after tripping over the bottom of the Invisibility Cloak. 

"That's it," Sirius said. 

He went over to where James had fallen and scooped her up in both arms. 

"Come on, put me down, Padfoot," she demanded. 

"If you knock me over once more I may kill you," he told her. "You alright, Moony?" 

Lupin was standing still, holding the Invisibility Cloak behind his back, looking at something past his two friends. Sirius turned around so he and James could see what he had been looking at. 

"I see one detention wasn't enough, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin?" Professor Aquila asked, grinning with deep satisfaction. "Don't worry, I'll see to it that you and your friend have enough detentions to last you to the end of June, unless of course the headmaster rather expel you." 

"Expel us? For what? Being out of our Tower after hours?" James asked, coolly. "That's not worth two whole detentions." 

"No, but sneaking into the Forbidden section of the library and taking a book is," Aquila replied, yanking the text from Lupin's hands. "Put her down, Mr. Black." 

Sirius frowned. "She has trouble walking, I---" 

"Then let her fall. Put her down," Aquila repeated. 

Sirius's eyes flashed. He lowered James to her feet, keeping his hands on her shoulders, defiantly. Aquila narrowed his eyes at James, suspiciously. 

"I've never seen you before, girl," he said. "You look alot like Potter." 

"Yea, I'm his grandmother," she retorted. 

Sirius smirked at the comment and gave her shoulders a light squeeze. Aquila only grinned. 

"Well, then, Mrs. Potter, I'm sure the headmaster would love to meet you." 

* * *

*** Woah, that poem was tacky. If anyone would like to supply a better one, I'd not object to using it and crediting the author. Poetry never was my forte. ^_^;; 


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